


A Call to Santa

by mldrgrl



Series: Little Will Universe [5]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 08:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13073412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: Some Christmas fluff in the Little Will alternate universe





	A Call to Santa

Mulder loves his son and loves being a dad, but there are moments, like this one, where the difficulty of being a parent makes him want to just walk away.  He’s in the middle of the mall, two days before Christmas, his six year old son screaming his head off because Mulder won’t buy him a particular toy.  And he can’t do a goddamn thing about it because he has to wait for Scully to finish shopping at Macy’s.

 

Everyone who walks by gives Mulder some form of look, mostly annoyance, some judgemental, a few knowing and sympathetic.  He feels all the eyes on him as he picks up his screaming, kicking son, and takes him to the nearest bench to wait.  He sits the boy on the bench and then kneels in front of him.  William’s sobs sound like a growl when he’s angry.

 

“Will,” Mulder hisses through gritted teeth.  “Calm down.”

 

“You promised!” William screams.  “You promised!  You promised!”

 

“I promised we would go to the pet store and the toy store while Mom shopped, I didn’t promise you a toy.”

 

“Liar!”  Will shouts in his father’s face and then pulls back and wipes his tear-stained eyes.  

 

“What in the world is going on?”

 

Mulder turns to look up at Scully, as relieved to see her standing behind him as he once was to find her after losing her running through a corn field chased by black helicopters.  Maybe even more so.

 

“Your son is throwing a temper tantrum over a toy,” Mulder says.

 

“William,” Scully says, her voice stern.  “I could hear you across the entire mall.”

 

William wails louder and Mulder cringes.  He stands and takes the shopping bag from Scully as she takes William’s hand.  She holds her head high as she marches the crying boy out of the mall, Mulder’s hand on her shoulder in solidarity, but they have to bypass the toy store on their way and Williams digs his feet in, pulling on Scully’s arm as he tries to break free and run inside.

 

“Let me go!” Will screams, his arms outstretched towards the display of toys in the window as Mulder picks him up, exchanging the shopping bag with her as she lets go of the boy.

 

Mulder has chased down suspects wielding guns, he’s crawled through an escalator shaft after a liver-eating mutant, he’s dived into a sewer to pursue a human/flukeworm hybrid, but hefting a wiggling, whining, and wailing six year old is in the top ten list of scariest things he’s ever done.  He’s seriously afraid he might end up with an elbow in the eye or a swift kick in the crotch.

 

By the time they reach the car, Will has stopped struggling and his crying is more subdued.  Scully buckles him in to his booster seat and gives Mulder a weary look after she shuts the door.  They can hear their son crying from outside the car.

 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mulder asks.

 

“Home as soon as possible, hot bath and a cold compress?”

 

“I was thinking we ditch the kid and start new lives under assumed identities where he’ll never find us.”

 

Scully gives Mulder another weary look and he hooks his arm around her shoulders, drawing her in against his chest in a tight hug.  She presses her hands against his sides under his coat for a few moments and then pulls away.

 

Traffic is a nightmare.  Just getting out of the mall parking lot takes twenty minutes.  Combined with Will’s crying, Mulder finds himself gripping the steering wheel so hard his hands start to cramp.  Halfway home, not only does a light rain begin to fall, Will starts angrily kicking the back of Mulder’s seat now that he’s stopped crying.

 

“Knock it off, Will,” Mulder says.

 

Scully reaches back and puts a hand on her son’s ankle to stop him.  As soon as she turns around, Will starts kicking again.

 

“William,” Mulder warns.

 

“You’re mean!” William yells, kicking the seat as hard as he can.

 

Mulder pulls the car over and jerks to a stop.  He shifts into park and then unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the door.

 

“Mulder?” Scully asks.

 

“I need a minute,” he answers, and then he steps out into the drizzle and walks away from the car.  He moves far enough that he’s not illuminated from the red taillights and he hunches over with his hands on his knees.  He takes deep breaths, in and out, in and out.

 

When he feels calmer, Mulder walks back to the car and raps twice on the passenger window.  Scully rolls the window down, her brows pulled together with concern.

 

“Would you drive, please?” Mulder asks.

 

“Sure.”  Scully nods and rolls up the window before opening the door.  Mulder steps back to let her out and she puts her hand on his cheek for a moment.

 

Both of their seats need adjustment when they get in the car.  Scully has to move hers forward and Mulder has to move his back.  He leans back and pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.  Before she puts the car in gear, Scully takes Mulder’s other hand, the one that’s fisted on his thigh, and laces their fingers together.  She gives his hand a squeeze and a shake and he squeezes back.

 

William is quieter for the rest of the drive home, but he strains against his seatbelt in frustration.  The driver’s seat is too far forward now for him to reach when he kicks his feet and his legs swing at empty air.  He wears himself out by the time Scully pulls the car into the garage and doesn’t protest when Mulder unhooks his belt and lifts him out of the booster seat.

 

The door in the garage leads to the laundry room where they all take off their shoes and jackets as is the custom.  Williams tries to run off as soon as he’s done, but Mulder catches him by the arm and holds him in place.

 

“Uh uh,” Mulder says.  “Kitchen.  Now.”

 

There are four barstools along the back of the kitchen island.  Since he’s been big enough, it’s where Will usually has breakfast.  He takes his seat, second stool from the left, and glares unhappily at his father.  Scully sits down next to William, turned towards him, and leans on her elbow on the counter.  Mulder stands on the other side, clenching his jaw.

 

“I’m not putting you in a timeout,” Mulder says.  “I’m not sending you to your room.  I’m not even going to take away X-Box.”

 

“Really?” William answers.  He lifts his head a little, his face brightening just a little, but then the Scully look of skepticism comes over him and he pulls his brows together.

 

“Nope.”  Mulder shakes his head.  He can see Scully looking at him with concern and surprise, can practically feel her protesting that of course Will needs to be punished for his behavior, but they have a pact of solidarity when it comes to discipline and she keeps her mouth shut.

 

“What’s the catch?” Will asks.

 

If Mulder weren’t so angry, he’d laugh.  Will can be the spitting image of his mother sometimes, especially when he lifts his eyebrow just so and looks at him with distrust.

 

“Well, I didn’t want to have to tell you this,” Mulder says.  “In fact, I shouldn’t tell you this, because it’s probably the biggest secret out there.  Quite honestly, I could get into  _ a lot _ of trouble for telling you what I’m about to tell you.”

 

William shifts his eyes over to his mother, who’s looking at Mulder with the same confusion Will has.  Mulder pulls his phone out of his back pocket and puts it down on the counter in front of Will, and then he leans down and rests his weight on his forearms.

 

“If I thought that something was wrong and you weren’t okay and you were trying to tell us something by acting out, I wouldn’t tell you this,” Mulder says gently, taking a tone he used to reserve for getting traumatized kids to open up when he was out in the field.  “But, you know, we’ve asked you what’s wrong and you said nothing.  So, I’ll ask you one more time, is there something we should know that you’re not telling us?”

 

“No,” Will says.

 

“Are you sure?  Are you really, really sure?”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

“I thought so.”  Mulder stands back up and crosses his arms across his chest.  “The only thing I can do now, is call Santa and tell him to put you on the naughty list.”

 

William actually rolls his eyes.  Scully also gives Mulder a look like he’s lost his mind.

 

“It’s true,” Mulder says.  “What you don’t know, Will, is that all parents have Santa’s number and we can call him at any time and tell him what you’ve done and just like that, no Christmas.”  Mulder snaps his fingers for emphasis.

 

“Gimme a break,” Will says.  

 

“You don’t believe me?”

 

“No.”

 

“Okay, then.”  Mulder unlocks his phone and opens the contacts.  He scrolls down until he finds Santa, showing it to William before he sends the call and then he puts it on speaker phone.

 

“North Pole!”

 

*****

 

48 hours earlier:

 

In Mulder’s wildest dreams, he never would’ve imagined hanging out at a bar with Walter Skinner.  As his boss, Skinner took a lot of shit from Mulder and a lot of heat for him too.  At the time, Mulder didn’t necessarily appreciate it as much as he should have.  After Will was born, and after Mulder left the FBI, he was able to reflect on his former boss with gratitude.  Eventually, a friendship developed between them.  They didn’t see each other all that much, and they didn’t hang out like buddies, but occasionally they got together to catch up.

 

After the day Mulder had, he just wanted to decompress and get out of the house, so he called Skinner.  They met up at a pub in DC, drank a few beers, and played two rounds of pool before sitting down in a booth to order dinner.

 

“What’s on your mind, Mulder?” Skinner asked, as soon as the waitress left their table.

 

“Why do you think something’s on my mind?”

 

Skinner took a pull from his newest beer bottle and shrugged.  “Seems a little out of the blue.  And you kind of sound like you did back in the day when a case wasn’t going your way.”

 

Mulder scratched at the label of his Shiner Bock and snorted slightly.  “Need to get out of the house for a bit,” he said.

 

“How’s Scully?”

 

“She’s good.”

 

“How’s William?”

 

Mulder hesitated.  “Scully says it’s a phase,” he finally answered.  “That he’s testing boundaries and we just need to hold our ground.”

 

Skinner chuckled and took another swig of beer.  He looked at Mulder with amusement, but turned stoic when he could see the anguish in Mulder’s eyes.

 

“When I talked back to my parents,” Mulder said.  “My father beat the shit out of me.  If I had ever yelled at them that I hated them if they took a video game away, he probably would’ve killed me.”

 

“I went through much of the same.  Different times.”

 

“I know.  It’s why Scully and I are uncomfortable with spanking as a form of punishment.  I’m just...sometimes I’m afraid he’s going to push me to snap.  And I won’t be able to forgive myself if that happens.”

 

“And so here we are?”

 

“Essentially.”

 

“Well, you can call me any time.”

 

“I appreciate that, Sir.”

 

Skinner grimaced.  “Stop calling me ‘Sir’ it makes me feel like your boss.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Hey, and just so you know, if I could refrain from taking you over my knee for eight years, you can do it too.”

 

Mulder laughed.  “Touché,” he said.  After taking a drink of his beer he sobered again.  “Scully also thinks part of the problem is that he’s too bored in school.  She wants to have him tested to see if he should skip a grade.  Doesn’t think his brain is being stimulated or challenged enough during the day.”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I think he’s a smart kid, but I’d rather keep him with kids his own age.  Scully always reminds me that  _ she _ skipped a grade and she turned out just fine.”

 

“She’s got you there.”

 

“Yeah.  We’ve gone to the school though, had a conference with his teacher, talked to the guidance counselor, and they all say Will is sweet as pie.  They don’t see any issues.”

 

“You think it could be something else?”

 

“I thought maybe, at first, maybe there was a bully at school or something he just didn’t want to talk about, but I think in this case, like most, the simplest explanation is always the answer.”

 

“Which is what?”

 

“He’s just a fucking brat.”

 

Skinner laughed.  “Christmas is only a few days away.  You could pull out the oldest trick in the book and nip this in the bud right now.”

 

“I thought of that, but he is half Scully after all.  If I tell him Santa won’t bring him any toys, he’s going to demand proof.”

 

“So prove it to him.”

 

*****

 

The phone rings only twice before it’s answered.  “North Pole!” 

 

“Could I please speak with Santa,” Mulder says.

 

“May I ask who’s calling?”

 

“Fox Mulder.”

 

“Fox Mulder...we only have one Fox Mulder in our system, so you must be in Virginia.  Do you have one son named William?  Six years old?”

 

“Yep, that’s me.”  Mulder takes a glance at Will, whose face is a mixture of disbelief and suspicion.

 

“Are you submitting an address change sir?”

 

“No, we’re still in Virginia.  I just need to speak with Santa.”

 

“I understand.  Would you be filing a nice report or a naughty report?”

 

“I’m not quite sure.  I actually need to ask Santa a policy question.”

 

“I’ll let him know, please hold.”

 

A click is heard and then a muzak version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town starts to play.  A few moments later, there’s another click.

 

“Santa speaking.”

 

Will’s eyes grow wide as saucers as he stares at the phone.

 

“Hi, Santa, this is Fox Mulder.”

 

“Good to hear from you, Fox.  My elves tell me you have a policy question.”

 

“I do.  Look, Santa, I know you’re very busy so I won’t take up too much of your time, let me just ask you, if a boy or girl ends up on your naughty list, do they get all their presents taken away?”

 

“No one on the naughty list gets any toys from Santa.  I will drop off a scoop of coal in their stocking, though.”

 

“That’s what I thought.  But, Santa, what if a boy was pretty nice for eleven out of twelve months and then for a few weeks he’s been sassy to his parents and throws tantrums when he doesn’t get his way?  What would happen?”

 

“Let me pull out my calculator here...that’s about 92% nice and 8% naughty.  Anything over 5% qualifies for the naughty list.”

 

“Hm.”  Mulder nods thoughtfully and strokes his chin.  

 

“Do I need to add William to the naughty list?” 

 

William gives his father a nervous look and Mulder stares him down, taking his time to look like he’s giving it  _ a lot  _ of thought.

 

“No,” Mulder says, slowly.  “No, I don’t think we need to do that.”

 

Will exhales audibly, his shoulders loosening in relief.

 

“However,” Mulder continues, his heart breaking just a little bit even as he steels himself for what he’s about to do.  “Santa, Will’s Mom and I have been having quite a few conversations with him lately about inappropriate behavior and I’m just not sure it’s really sinking in, no matter how hard we try.  And I know that the LEGO Millennium Falcon was at the top of his Christmas list.”

 

“Indeed, one LEGO Millennium Falcon wrapped and ready.”

 

“Unfortunately, Santa, I think we need to wait on that gift.  I think we should work on that 8% and bring it up to the threshold.  Maybe that set should go to another boy or girl who was good all year.”

 

“Well, if that’s what you think is best, Fox, I’ll just have the elves take that out of my bag.”

 

William gasps and his eyes brim with tears.  Mulder feels like crying a little himself.  He moves his eyes from his son to Scully, who gives him a slight, albeit sad smile, with a nod of agreement.

 

“Yes, Santa,” Scully says, speaking up to support Mulder.  “I think we think it’s best for this year.”

 

“Dana, is that you?”

 

“Hello, Santa.”

 

Mulder looks at his son, whose on the verge of another meltdown, and he picks up the phone.  “Santa, we’re going to have to go now.”

 

“Be sure to tell Dana to stop by the North Pole soon, we mi-”

 

“Okay,” Mulder interrupts.  “Merry Christmas to you too, Santa, bye bye.”  He disconnects the call.

 

William sniffs hard and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.  “I’m sorry!” he cries.  “Don’t let Santa put me on the naughty list, Daddy please!”

 

Scully reaches over and rubs Will’s back lightly.  She looks at Mulder, her eyes telling him to stay strong.  Mulder has to blink back his own tears and he bites the inside of his cheek for a few moments.

 

“That’s gonna be up to you, buddy,” Mulder says.  “You need to cut out the tantrums, stop the backtalk, do your chores without complaining, keep your room clean, and...and Scully do you have anything to add?”

 

“No, I think that covers it.”

 

“Can you do that, Will?”

 

William nods while wiping his eyes again.

 

“Go give Daddy a hug,” Scully says, patting Will on the back.  “Then, I think it’s time for you to brush your teeth and get your pajamas on.”

 

William slips off the barstool and trudges over to Mulder.  He butts his head into Mulder’s stomach, but his arms stay limp at his side.  Mulder leans over to hug his son tightly.

 

“I love you, buddy,” Mulder says.

 

William sniffs and then turns around and runs upstairs.  Mulder clutches the edge of the countertop and leans over, blowing out a harsh breath.

 

“Mulder?”

 

“I need to take a walk.”  He stands and walks away, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands.

 

****

 

36 hours earlier:

 

Mulder hadn’t seen the gunmen in ages, but they spoke often enough on the phone.  While Will was watching cartoons, he locked himself in his office and called their offices.

 

“Lone Gunmen,” Langly answered.

 

“Turn off the tape,” Mulder said.

 

“It’s off.”

 

“Great, now really turn it off.”

 

“You’re not even a g-man anymore, Mulder, what does it matter?”

 

“Because it matters.  You guys busy?”

 

“We just cracked the security clearance for th-”

 

“It was rhetorical, Langly.  I need a favor.”

 

“Let me put you on speaker.”

 

“Hey, Mulder!” Byers voice called out.

 

“Where’s the delectable ex-agent Scully?” Frohike asked.

 

“Simmer down, Melvin.  Look, here’s the thing…”  He told them much of what he told Skinner and what Skinner suggested.  If anyone could help him make Will believe in the power of Santa, it would be the gunmen.

 

They agreed to help if it was necessary, only Mulder hoped to god it wasn’t necessary.  He didn’t want to resort to tricking their son.  Actually, he wanted his son to miraculously start behaving himself, but it didn’t seem likely.  He told himself he’d only use the number Langly gave him if it was absolutely, without a doubt, 100% necessary.  

 

*****

 

After his walk around the block, Mulder is still feeling like shit.  The house is quiet.  He assumes Will has been put to bed and Scully is taking her bath.  He flops down face first onto the bed, completely depressed.  He hears the shuffle of feet on the carpet and then Scully crawls up and over him, laying on his back with her head resting on his shoulder.

 

“Hey,” Scully murmurs.

 

Mulder grunts in response.

 

“Will’s asleep.”

 

Mulder sighs.  “Did I do the right thing?”

 

“Mulder,” she whispers.  “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”

 

“For making our son cry?  I made our son  _ cry _ , Scully.”

 

“I know.”  She kisses his cheek and runs her hands up and down his sides.  “But, you’re a good father.  You did what had to be done, even if it hurt.”

 

Mulder blinks.  “It did hurt.”

 

“And I know you were really looking forward to building that Millennium Eagle with Will.”

 

“Falcon.”

 

“Whatever.  Are you going to take it back.”

 

“No.  Maybe we can give it to him for his birthday.”

 

“Maybe.  By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice that Sant sounded an awful lot like Melvin Frohike.”  

 

Mulder chuckles a little.  Scully folds her arms across his shoulders and rests her chin on them.  He shifts his eyes to the side and then strains his head a little to see her.  She touches his nose with one finger and smiles.

 

“Have you been naked this whole time?” Mulder asks.

 

“I was wondering when you’d notice.”

 

“Forgive me, I was a little preoccupied.”

 

“I know.”

 

“And you haven’t taken a bath yet.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Because your skin would be pinker and warmer and you’d smell like peach oil.”

 

“I thought you might want to join me.”

 

“I don’t think I could refuse an invitation such as that.”

 

Scully drags herself backwards off of Mulder and he turns to sit up and admire the view as she walks away into the master bathroom.  He appreciates the distraction, but it isn’t quite enough at the moment.

 

“I’ll be right in,” he calls to her, slipping out of the room.

 

The half-moon nightlight in Will’s room glows blue against the wall.  Even in the dim light, Mulder can tell that his son’s face is still splotchy with tears.  He crouches down next to the boy’s bed and cups Will’s cheek.  Will breathes deeply in his sleep and sighs.

 

“I love you more than anything,” Mulder whispers.  “I hope you know that.”

 

Before leaving, Mulder rearranges the top blanket over Will and kisses his forehead.  He pulls his sweater off in the hall and then locks the bedroom door behind him.  He wonders if maybe he should ask Scully if they can call Santa back and change their mind.  He’s certainly been more than 8% naughty for years and look what it got him.  If he was nice enough to convince Scully to fall for him, Will deserves a Millennium Falcon.

 

The End

  
  
  
  



End file.
